For the past 2 years Overclock3D has been at the forefront of independent Power Supply testing in the UK. Being the only UK technology publication at present to possess its own in-house ATE (well two in fact), we have always maintained the belief that a power supply can only be tested correctly on professional equipment, by trained staff and without any controversy surrounding using off-site testing facilities or 'sponsored' equipment.

In this time we've also come to realise that there is no definitive way for enthusiasts to identify the best PSU's on the market at a glance. ATX compliance and 80PLUS certification does not guarantee 'quality' by any stretch of the imagination, and product awards are becoming all too easy for lesser-quality manufacturers to obtain simply by sending their products to publications that are unable to correctly test power supplies to their rated outputs. It is for this reason that Overclock3D has launched its own Power Supply Certification Programme.

Our programme covers areas such as SCP and OCP testing along with stringent ripple and voltage analysis, Efficiency and PF testing and temperature monitoring. Furthermore, being the overclocking enthusiast website that we are, we have always believed in testing beyond specifications. After all it's not until you start pushing PSU's beyond their rated outputs that you really get to tell the difference between a good unit and a GREAT unit.

This is why we're inviting all PSU manufacturers to a duel!Their PSU's vs our testing procedures.

At the end of testing, PSU's that pass the following gruelling challenges will be awarded with our "OC3D Certified PSU" logo. These tests include:

1) SCP (Short Circuit Protection) testing at full load.

2) OCP (Over Current Protection) testing beyond full load.

3) Stringent ripple analysis.

4) Stringent voltage output analysis at both idle and full load.

5) Efficiency and Power Factor testing.

6) Operational temperature testing.

Full details of these tests and what's required in order to pass can be found in our whitepaper here. Over the next few days we'll be directly contacting all PSU manufacturers and requesting that they submit their latest models to us for analysis. The table below shows who we've contacted and whether they've responded or not: